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Sunday, September 4, 2011

UAE: Only A Fever Will Cure Election Apathy

With campaigning for the Federal National Council (FNC) elections beginning
Sunday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), candidates should create poll
awareness through meetings and debates

By Abdul Hamid Ahmad

Candidates
running for the Federal National Council (FNC) elections will launch their
campaigns Sunday and we hope that the poll process will receive that
much-needed boost.

So
far everything seems to be very quiet — as if nothing important is happening in
the country. Usually, when there are elections, as we have seen in neighbouring
countries and beyond, there are a lot of activities, lectures, media reports
and debates on the polls, candidates and manifestos. There is enthusiasm in the
air.

But
nothing like this has happened until now in the UAE. Even the media, be it
newspapers, television and radio stations, have kept silent except for a few
articles here and there, which have gone unnoticed. And, while there is news
about the FNC elections, it is buried in the inside pages. Readers can hardly
feel elections are round the corner. We have failed in the media to create that
feeling and atmosphere about this important, historical event in the country.

I,
sometimes, despite being the editor-in-chief of a big newspaper in the UAE, do
not understand this. We go big while covering elections in other countries be
it in Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, the UK, US, India and Pakistan to name a few,
devoting full pages for weeks and months to reports, analysis, opinions and
pictorials.

We
profile candidates, highlight manifestos and cover stories in the front pages
with extensive reporting inside. In some cases, we even send our reporters to
these countries to cover their elections. Then, why is our media not
enthusiastic about polls in the UAE like they are when elections are held in
other countries?

Right platform

I
honestly have no answer. Is it because there is not much information coming
through? Is it because people are too conservative to talk about it in the UAE?
Is it because the media has no access to information or is the media
conservative? Is it because the people are not very enthusiastic about the
process and do not care if the stories are being reported because reports are
going unnoticed?

The
answer might be a combination of all these factors. But most probably it lies
in the fact that the election committee itself and the media are not putting in
the effort required to make the elections noticeable and ensure the message
reaches the people.

A
real opportunity for debate and participation in elections has been lost.
Elections in any country, I assume, are held to raise through debates
consciousness, awareness and knowledge among people on key issues, be it
social, political or economical. It is the right platform for national debate.
But nothing of this sort has happened in the UAE. There have been no debates so
far.

Being
an enthusiast myself and a dreamer, I hope that from today with the candidates
starting their campaigns, there will be a buzz and debates will be conducted —
awareness about the elections will run through the veins of society.

Over
the next 20 days, the time-frame given for campaigning, candidates will have
the opportunity through their majlises, tents, posters, booklets,
advertisements, lectures and press conferences to not only talk about their
manifestos but to show how knowledgeable and mature they are to raise healthy
debates on issues concerning the FNC elections.

Pledges and commitment

Promises
will not work much for them to gain voter support because people know that it
is not in the hands of the FNC to make pledges come true. But certainly good
candidates can promise that through their commitment, knowledge and
determination they can make a difference in the performance of the FNC.

And
I wish these candidates, the National Election Committee and the media will be
more open about issues relating to the elections, candidates and manifestos. I
hope they will be less conservative while tackling these issues.

By
doing so, the process will give much more substance not only to the media but
also to the people in the UAE, whether they are in the Electoral Colleges or
not. And this, in fact, is one of the main purposes of the UAE Government when
it chose to go step-by-step into political participation — involving and
engaging people in dialogue and spreading awareness among them.

Certainly,
the media has a bigger role to play in fulfilling this goal if it is given that
open avenue and the people are encouraged to come out of their shells and get
involved in this critical process positively. Elections need passion,
commitment, awareness and positive people, not careless citizens.

Today,
as we kick off the campaign, we want to see real election fever grip the media,
majlises and homes because without this fever, which will make us quiver with
excitement, an election will flow quietly away and will not move stones
forward.

-This commentary was published in The GULF NEWS on 04/09/2011
-Abdel Hamid Ahmed is the editor-in-chief of The Gulf News

About Me

I graduated from the French University in Beirut (St Joseph) specialising in Political and Economic Sciences. I started my working life in 1973 as a reporter and journalist for the pan-Arab magazine “Al-Hawadess” in Lebanon later becoming its Washington, D.C. correspondent. I subsequently moved to London in 1979 joining “Al-Majallah” magazine as its Deputy Managing Editor. In 1984 joined “Assayad” magazine in London initially as its Managing Editor and later as Editor-in-Chief. Following this, in 1990 I joined “Al-Wasat” magazine (part of the Dar-Al-Hayat Group) in London as a Managing Editor. In 2011 I became the Editor-In-Chief of Miraat el-Khaleej (Gulf Mirror). In July 2012 I became the Chairman of The Board of Asswak Al-Arab Publishing Ltd in UK and the Editor In Chief of its first Publication "Asswak Al-Arab" Magazine (Arab Markets Magazine) (www.asswak-alarab.com).

I have already authored five books. The first “The Tears of the Horizon” is a love story. The second “The Winter of Discontent in The Gulf” (1991) focuses on the first Gulf war sparked by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. His third book is entitled “Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: From Balfour Promise to Bush Declaration: The Complications and the Road to a Lasting Peace” (March 2008). The fourth book is titled “How Iran Plans to Fight America and Dominate the Middle East” (October 2008) And the fifth and the most recent is titled "JIHAD'S NEW HEARTLANDS: Why The West Has Failed To Contain Islamic Fundamentalism" (May 2011).

Furthermore, I wrote the memoirs of national security advisor to US President Ronald Reagan, Mr Robert McFarlane, serializing them in “Al-Wasat” magazine over 14 episodes in 1992.

Over the years, I have interviewed and met several world leaders such as American President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Margaret Thacher, Late King Hassan II of Morocco, Late King Hussein of Jordan,Tunisian President Zein El-Abedine Bin Ali, Lybian Leader Moammar Al-Quadhafi,President Amine Gemayel of Lebanon,late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, Late Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat, Haitian President Jean Claude Duvalier, Late United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan,Algerian President Shazli Bin Jdid, Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Siyagha and more...